The European Commission has no knowledge of any loopholes or “gaps” in its rules that would allow Malta to ease some of the restrictions on trapping in autumn. Reacting to a declaration made last week by Parliamentary Secretary for Animal Welfare Roderick Galdes, that his government had found a “technical gap” that could possibly allow bird trapping to continue, the Commission said it had no knowledge of such a possibility.

It also said no proposals to this effect had been made by the Government so far.

Birds might not notice the difference in political leaders

Brussels also warned that the infringement procedures opened against Malta on trapping were still active and that the next stage would be to take Malta to court.

“Trapping of birds is generally prohibited under the Birds directive. Member states may derogate to allow some limited trapping, provided that all the strict conditions for the derogation are met,” the spokesman said.

However, he added that under Malta’s accession treaty, the country had already been granted “a transitional period to phase out the trapping of non-huntable song birds (finches) by the end of 2008”.

In 2010, the Commission started infringement procedures against Malta on the incorrect application of a derogation, which had permitted the trapping in autumn of four species of birds (turtle dove, quail, golden plover and song thrush).

In the following years the trapping permitted was scaled down.

In 2011, the legal process was stepped up a notch. Sources close to the Commission told Times of Malta that another false step from the Maltese authorities would land the island with a full-blown case before the European Court of Justice.

Under pressure from the hunters’ lobby to ease the strict limits on hunting and trapping, the new administration is looking at how to do so without stretching EU rules too far.

In an interview with Times of Malta last week, Parliamentary Secretary Galdes played down the reports of illegal hunting from the spring season and said although a derogation for trapping would be very difficult to obtain, the Government had found a gap in the EU’s rules that might be used.

Mr Galdes’s declaration has also been picked up by the Brussels press. In an article called A Bird-brained Idea, the European Voice said that “Galdes, who rejoices in the improbable title of parliamentary secretary for animal rights, told Times of Malta that the new government would be looking for an exemption from EU law to allow it to carry on bird-trapping in autumn”.

According to the newspaper – read in many of the EU’s most important offices – while a new generation has taken over Maltese politics, with two former MEPs Joseph Muscat and Simon Busuttil at the helm of their parties, “birds might not notice the difference”.